GUERNSEY’S first match in Pepsi World Cricket League Division Six turned out to be a tough lesson.

Taking on the hosts and pre-tournament favourites Singapore on Saturday at the impressive Singapore Cricket Club, which is surrounded by skyscrapers, and in sweltering 30C-plus temperatures, the Greens were all out for 169. It was never going to be enough and the home side knocked it off for the loss of three wickets and 20 overs spare. ‘It’s not ideal to play the hosts in the first game,’ said Guernsey manager Dave Hearse. ‘It was a combination of the fact that they are a good side and we under-performed. ‘Their bowlers bowled disciplined lines. Their three seamers had a touch of pace about them and their spinners bowled tidily but eight out of our 10 batsmen gave their wickets away. ‘If we want to go on in this competition, we’ve got to play better than that.’

GH Smit drives before being run out ICC

After winning the toss, the Sarnians decided to bat first on a hard track. The Singapore opening bowlers extracted quite a bit of bounce and carry out of the strip. But it was a freak dismissal that resulted in the loss of Guernsey’s first wicket when Lee Savident drove Mohamad Omar straight back at the bowler who got a touch on the ball before it slammed into the non-striker’s wicket to run out Savident’s opening partner GH Smit by a couple of feet.

Poise and elegance from Lee Savident ICC

The dismissal brought to the wicket Tom Kimber, who had been elevated to number three to take advantage of the power-play as a pinch hitter. However, it turned out that the young keeper had to adapt his role as wickets kept falling at the other end. Savident went for 25 when he chipped a low full toss back to Mulewa Dharmichand. The 25-year-old off-spinner originally from India was a class act. He has played in the Ranji Trophy for Karnataka and had held an IPL contract before committing to his adopted country. In his first spell he also accounted for Jeremy Frith, captain Stuart Le Prevost and Ross Kneller.

Inelegance from Tom Kimber ICC

Meanwhile Kimber played a mature innings and when the chance arose, the compact right-hander displayed his natural aggression with some lusty shots, particularly through the leg side. He ended up with 58 from 57 balls before he was bowled by spinner Buddhika Mendis with the total on Nelson – 111 for six. ‘I would have enjoyed it a bit more if I got another 40-odd runs,’ said Kimber afterwards.

Stuart Le Prevost bowled ICC

Jamie Nussbaumer and Gary Rich made sure that Guernsey got to the last over as they were content ‘to pick the low fruits’ off the Singapore spinners. Mulewa came back into the fold and picked up Nussbaumer and Stuart Bisson in the last over after the number 11 had smacked him for a big six over midwicket.

That’s better Tom, lovely cover drive ICC

Requiring less than four runs an over, Singaporean batsmen were never really going to be under the cosh, unless Guernsey took wickets. The visitors did make an early inroad through Savident when Mulewa hit the big seamer to Bisson at mid on with the score on nought. Bisson also came close to catching Singapore’s other opener, Mendis, down at third man off Nussbaumer shortly afterwards, but it dropped agonisingly short.

Jeremy Frith tries to make something happen ICC

The left-handed Mendis continued to ride his luck. With a short backlift, the ball would ping off his bat as he swung his hands through his shots. He took a particular liking to Bisson’s medium pace and Le Prevost was maybe guilty of not introducing spin earlier on. When he came on, left-arm spinner Frith got rid of Mendis for 66 with the score on 89 when the Singaporean found Bisson at deep square leg.If Guernsey had hopes of triggering a collapse to give them an unlikely win, these were soon smashed as Narendar Reddy and Munish Arora, who had bowled some brilliantly flighted left-arm spin earlier in the day, saw the Reds home.

Former Australian Test player and younger brother of Ian and Greg Chappell, Trevor, is coaching Singapore throughout the competition. He was a happy man afterwards. ‘I’m very pleased and it’s the perfect way to start a tournament,’ he said. ‘What we needed to do was to get off to a good start and the boys did that.’ However, he was quick to dismiss his side’s favourites tag. ‘I’m not sure about being favourites, I think it’s going to be very even,’ he said.

Saturday’s other games proved to be closer affairs as Division Seven champions Bahrain beat Malaysia by just two runs at the Indian Association ground and Norway got the better of Botswana by 19 runs at the Kalang.